A quiet blog that discusses LGBT issues, fiction, publishing, pop culture, and romance novels that may or may not be erotic romance.

Friday, November 1, 2013

How to Write a Novel; Russia Bans Gay Gathering For Holocaust Victims

How to Write a Novel

I don't usually post about non-fic books like this, but I'm doing it this time partly because there aren't many good books out there like it and partly because it's a self-published book authored by former literary agent, Nathan Bransford. Bransford is also a long time blogger and the author of a middle grade book series, and the unusual thing about his blog is that it has continued to be just as popular even after he decided to pursue a professional writing career and leave agenting.

Speaking as a blogger now, the reason why that's so unusual is literary agent blogs usually receive many hits because so many unpubbed writers want to snag a literary agent. The readers want something from the blogger. This makes sense. It's not easy to snag an agent or a book deal in trad publishing and connecting with an agent through a blog makes writers feel closer to their goals. In other words, the odds are these same literary agent blogs wouldn't be as popular if the bloggers weren't literary agents. And Bransford has proven that it is possible to continue to draw a large audience as a blogger without having anything to offer them other than good blog posts that range from writing tips to personal conversations about life, books, and objective criticism. As a blogger, I know how hard that is to do.

In any event, I haven't read How to Write a Novel yet, but I'm going to buy it later tonight just so I have something to use as a point of reference when I need to prove/discuss something here on my blog. There's one other non-fic book I loved, also written by a literary agent, Noah Lukeman, I still refer to often when I'm about to submit a novel to a publisher. And from what I've read through excerpts and early reviews, it looks like Bransford's new book just might wind up becoming a staple for other writers for many years to come. But more important, Bransford's book is priced at $4.99.

You can read excerpts at Bransford's blog, here. And this is the Amazon page where you can purchase it. I'm sure it will be distributed at Smashwords and other places where digital books are sold as well. Although the book cover isn't anything elaborate, if you've been following Bransford's blog for any length of time you know orange is his favorite color.

Russia Bans Gay Gathering For Holocaust Victims

I still shudder when I think about the Holocaust, especially when I think about how many gays were persecuted during that time. The millions of lives lost should never have happened, and it wouldn't have happened if the world had been paying closer attention to what the Nazis were doing, and taking aggressive action against it.

Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler, gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazi Party and were ultimately among Holocaust victims. Beginning in 1933, gay organizations were banned, scholarly books about homosexuality, and sexuality in general, were burned, and homosexuals within the Nazi Party itself were murdered. The Gestapo compiled lists of homosexuals, who were compelled to sexually conform to the "German norm."
And now when I read about what's happening in Russia to gays it gets even more frightening. The other day I read something about Putin welcoming gays to Russia for the Olympics. But after reading this next article I can't help but wonder how welcome gays really are in Russia and I think the call to boycott the Olympics is more important than ever. I've written a series of post on this, here. As you can see from those posts I'm not the only one who feels this way...aside from Johnny Weir who thinks sports is more important than lives. He makes me shudder, too.

Russia recently banned a gay gathering that was organized to pay tribute and honor to LGBT people who were persecuted and were victims of Nazi Germany. And in banning this gathering the Russian government has sent a message to the world and it's infuriated gay activists.

But the authorities rejected the application, saying paying tribute to gay victims of Nazi Germany could potentially ‘influence’ children on homosexuality. Nikolai Alekseev, founder of Moscow Pride, said: ‘The Moscow authorities are becoming increasingly absurd, and the ba of the rally to denounce the crimes of Hitler and Nazism is more proof of this.‘The government is approving of Nazi Germany’s genocidal policies.’
In an even more homophobic hate oriented move, it's been alleged the Russian government has banned all gay gatherings.

Second Chance: The Complete Series

About Me

Ryan
@ryanfield
Hybrid author of over 100 published modern romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN, FANGSTERS, THE RAINBOW DETECTIVE AGENCY and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. (The profile photo isn't very good, but it's really me and it's recent from 2017. I'm not supposed to be a photographer. )
RfieldJ@aol.com

Second Chance: His Only Choice

Second Chance: The Sweetest Apple

Cowboy Christmas Miracle Glendora Hill Series

The Littlest Christmas Tree

Book 2 Second Chance Series

Best Seller on Allromanceebooks.com

Bad Boy Billionaire: The Actor Learning to Love

I won't give out any spoilers, but this is the first time I've ever worked the attacks on the World Trade Center into a novel (you can see the twin towers in the background on the cover)...it's also the first time I've ever written a strong lesbian theme into the subplot.

The Women Who Love to Love Gay Romance

An Anthology with Ryan Field Press, release date August 30, 2013...links to follow soon.

Fangsters: Clan of the Jersey Boys

At a glance, Anton Pagano looks and sounds just like any other twenty-something. He lives in a mansion in northern New Jersey with his mom and dad, and he's never had to worry about anything other than his wardrobe, his latest new car, and the secret love affair he's been having for years. However, Anton has more than just the love affair to hide: he belongs to a Sicilian vampire mobster clan that migrated to New Jersey in the late 1800s.

The Wall Street Shark

Third installment of the Bad Boy Billionaire series.

Note to All Readers...

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That Cowboy in the Window

Erotic Gay Romance with a twist.

Chase of a Dream

In this 59,000 word unabridged version of the sequel to "Chase of a Lifetime" that contains all of the original erotic scenes, Jim Darling finally finds the happiness he's been chasing for so long. He and Len Mayfield have settled into a quiet routine in their small newly renovated home in the Hollywood Hills, and they enjoy every minute they spend together raising Len's toddler grandson, Culum Mayfied.

An Officer and His Gentleman

Alyson Books

Ravenous Romance

all romance ebooks

Cleis Press

Pretty Man

Unlike most stories, where the rich and powerful husband dumps the hard working, devoted life partner for someone younger, this one takes a turn in the opposite direction when the rich husband is the one to get dumped. But with young Josh's help, Roland learns in less than a week's time that his future can still hold both earth-shattering sex and a love of real substance.

Whatever, Dude

When a young professional is mistaken for a hooker, the outcome is always shocking.

Disclaimer

I don't post photos or images here unless I'm certain they fall under the guidelines of fair use or public domain. But this blog has been around for a while and even though I've triple checked previous posts for photos and taken down anything questionable, I might have missed something and my intention was not to infringe on anyone's rights. I will continue to update, and all photos I post now will provide attribution of some kind. If not, they are believed to be in the public domain.